Dalmatia
1:
DALMATIA (PLACE) [Gk Dalmatia (Δαλματια)]. A region along the modern Yugoslav coast of the Adriatic Sea which in apostolic times was the SW part of Illyricum. This ill-defined mountainous district was a nemesis to Rome. By the time of Paul’s epistle to Timothy (ca. a.d. 67) the name denoted at least the region between the Macedonian frontier to the S and the river Titius (Kerka) and oftentimes the entire province of Illyricum (2 Tim 4:10). The broader definition was definitely used during the Flavian era. Main Dalmatian cities included Salona, Scodra, and Delminium—the capital.
The Romans established a protectorate over Dalmatia in 228 b.c. but never realized an easy or peaceful suzerainty. The name Dalmatia originally indicated the land of a warlike tribe—the barbarous Delmatae or Dalmatae. The region, true to its name, remained rebellious even through the fall of Rome. In 157 b.c. the Dalmatians openly mistreated Gaius Fannius, the leader of a Roman embassy. Subsequently, Marcius Figulus burned Delminium. Already by 119 b.c. the Romans deemed it necessary to send additional forces, this time led by Caecilus Marcus, to put down Dalmatian revolts. And the Dalmatians would revolt a generation later and defeat Caesar and Gabinus (50–48 b.c.). Augustus thought it noteworthy to list Dalmatia (Illyricum) among his accomplishments: “I extended the frontier of Illyricum to the bank of the Danube” (Augustus Res Gestae 30; App. Ill. 11–12, 28; Suet. Aug. 21, 23). But late in his reign (a.d. 6–8) he faced more Dalmatian resistance and sent Tiberius to squelch Bato’s revolt. Dalmatia, partly because of its N location, but mainly because of its semi-independence, became a haven for refugees and enemies of Rome, e.g., Aetius in a.d. 433 and Emperor Julius Nepos in a.d. 475 (Jones 1964: 3: 244). Paul highlights its remoteness in Rom 15:19: “. . . all the way around to Illyricum.” However, the N coastal location attracted both merchant and military interest. The Dalmatians made little use of coinage but, nonetheless, remained an important tax base for the Romans (Strabo 7.315). Romans would display their military skills in Dalmatia (Ferrill 1986: 159), and their enemies saw the region as the gateway to the Roman Balkans. Alaric capitalized both on Dalmatia’s tax problems, gaining support among Roman Dalmatians (Claudian De Bello Gothico 536), and on the location (Ferrill 1986: 95), en route to his sack of Rome in a.d. 410.
The Dalmatian church was infiltrated by both cults and Greco-Roman religious factions. A dedication “to the gods and goddesses” appears in the wall of a Dalmatian church (Fox 1986: 194), and Ramsay MacMullen lists Dalmatia as a cult center (MacMullen 1981: 13, 127).
Bibliography
Ferrill, A. 1986. The Fall of the Roman Empire. London.
Fox, R. L. 1986. Pagans and Christians. New York.
Goffart, W. 1980. Barbarians and Romans: a.d. 418–584. Princeton.
Jones, A. H. M. 1964. The Later Roman Empire. 4 vols. Cambridge.
MacMullen, R. 1981. Paganism in the Roman Empire. New Haven.
Jerry A. Pattengale
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (2:4). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Dalmatia — a mountainous country on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, a part of the Roman province of Illyricum. It still bears its ancient name. During Paul’s second imprisonment at Rome, Titus left him to visit Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10) for some unknown purpose. Paul had himself formerly preached in that region (Rom. 15:19).
The present Emperor of Austria bears, among his other titles, that of “King of Dalmatia.”
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
DALMATIA Mountainous region on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, across from Italy. The Dalmatians were an Illyrian (Greek) tribe, or group of tribes banded together, coming from the area around the town of Delmion (or Delminium). Their piracy gave the Romans considerable difficulty until Octavian thoroughly subjugated them in 33 bc.
At the time of Paul, Dalmatia was the name of the Roman province; its southern boundary was Macedonia, and its northern boundary is not clearly known. There is one reference to the province in the NT: Titus is mentioned as going there in 2 Timothy 4:10. We are not told why he went. It may be that Paul had organized some churches there, or Titus may have been opening up a new mission field.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (345). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
DALMA´TIA (dal-māʹshi-a). A district E of the Adriatic, being a Roman province; a place visited by Titus (2 Tim. 4:10). According to Rom. 15:19 Paul himself had once preached there, the place being referred to as Illyricum.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
DALMATIA. A Roman province in the mountainous region on the E of the Adriatic, formed by the emperor Tiberius. Its name was derived from an Illyrian tribe that inhabited it. It was bounded on the E by Moesia and the N by Pannonia. It is mentioned in 2 Tim. 4:10, and is identical with *Illyricum (Rom. 15:19). b.f.c.a.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (251). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
6:
Dalmatia (dal-mayʹshee-uh), the southwestern part of Illyricum along the modern Yugoslav coast of the Adriatic Sea. Illyricum was established as a Roman province in a.d. 9-10. The name Dalmatia dates from the period of the Flavian emperors (ca. a.d. 70) and came to be used interchangeably with the name of the province as a whole. In 2 Tim. 4:10 Titus leaves Paul to go to Dalmatia. See also Illyricum.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (203). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
7:
Dalmatia (Gk. Dalmatɩ́a)
A Roman province located on the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. Dalmatia provided a model for the subsequent troublesome history of the Balkan states. This mountainous area adjacent to Macedonia came under Roman domination in 228 b.c.e. However, Rome never succeeded in completely stabilizing its control over the region. Dalmatia took its name from the Delmantae or Dalmante, tribal peoples who originally occupied the area. During NT times Dalmatia was associated with the province of Illyricum (2 Tim. 4:10). Various ancient sources testify that the church in Dalmatia was susceptible to cults, syncretism, and internal strife.
D. Larry Gregg
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (308). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
